2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid

The Honda Clarity is all about alternatives as Honda now offers that one chassis in a choice of propulsion methods: plug-in hybrid, fuel cell and electric.

From the press lit: “The Clarity series, led by the Clarity Plug-In, is at the forefront of Honda's initiative to bring electrified vehicle technology into the mainstream as the company aims for electrified vehicles to make up two-thirds of its global automobile sales by 2030.”

Our tester was the plug-in hybrid. Honda claims a 47-mile range–the highest, they note, of any plug-in hybrid sedan.

Some more details right from the source:

“Power comes from a 181-horsepower electric motor producing 232 lb.-ft. of torque and drawing power from both the gasoline engine and a 17-kilowatt hour (kWh) battery pack. A recharge time of just 2.5 hours using a Level 2, 240 volt (32 amp) charger allows for easy charging.

“The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid powertrain utilizes a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle engine that is paired with two electric motors – a traction motor and a generator/starter motor.”

The peak total system output is 212 horsepower. How does that compare to the rest of the Honda lineup? The Insight offers a total system output of just 151 horsepower, where the Accord Hybrid matches the Clarity.

Total bill for the plug-in Clarity? $36,600 before delivery–almost two grand more than what you’ll pay for a loaded Accord Hybrid Touring.

So, it's an Accord hybrid beaten with an ugly stick that if you plug it in at night, you can drive nearly 50 miles on just the battery power?

How long to recoup the extra $2k in gas savings if you can save a little less than 2 gallons a day?

In reply to T.J. :

That’s pretty easy math.. $2000 / ($2 a gallon x 2 gallons/day) = 500 days, or about 17 months. If you own the car for 10 years it’ll pay for the difference many times over. 

I realize I’ve not added anything in for electricity to keep things simple.. in my experience charging a hybrid every day is only about $40/mo. So if you wanted to add that in.. might need a spreadsheet instead of a calculator but roughly 2 years. Still a good savings if you own the car for a while. 

AND if you lease the cars, the difference in cost is probably even smaller and then the math probably starts to play to the clarity's advantage

actually, looked at the math on the Honda website, Clarity doesn't lease as well as the accord, have to buy it and get the tax incentive.. then the clarity will be cheaper than the accord. 

I want the Element to be reintroduced as a hybrid so badly. 

In reply to captdownshift :

Amen

Tom is wrong about it being ugly. It's not. It's a cool Japanese spaceship car. Exactly what high tech Japanese cars should be. 

I'd replace my Volt with one in a heartbeat if I had extra money laying around. Don't discount the convenience of not needing to buy gas during normal driving combined with the convenience of being able to take multi thousand mile road trips. 

I just want an electric-drive hybrid vehicle - one with an electric motor for propulsion and gas generator backup like this - that has the room/practicality/versatility of a Grand Caravan(but without the flakey mopar BCM issues), but can actually tow 5,000lbs minimum. 

Used, of course...

I also think this thing looks cool. If it was a hatchback it would go on my list of potential new dd.

I saw one of these on the road last year and had no idea what it was. I thought it was some strange body-kitted Accord until I saw the "fuel cell" and "Clarity" badges. I still had no idea what it was until I got on the internet. I guess Honda isn't marketing these at all?

That was a year ago. I saw a second one last week. And this in the ultra-commuter DC area, where people have pretty high income and Priuses and Teslas are everywhere, and everyone wants the "hot new electric thing." So I'm kind of surprised to have not seen more than two over a full year-plus. 

Also, pretty ugly, especially considering how excellent the new Accord looks to my eyes. 

I was stopped beside one in traffic today, and I took one look and that's all It took for me to think that car has been beat senseless with the ugly stick.

I just want an electric-drive hybrid vehicle - one with an electric motor for propulsion and gas generator backup like this - that has the room/practicality/versatility of a Grand Caravan(but without the flakey mopar BCM issues), but can actually tow 5,000lbs minimum. 

Used, of course...

We're getting closer! With exception of the tow rating, for now. But, I'm much more confident in the durability of hybrid transmissions to deal with towing than i am with old school automatics.  For the most part they don't have holding elements (clutches/sprags/bands) in between the drive motor and the wheels, and an electric motor is not going to care about what resistance it's up against. It's not going to shorten its lifespan. 

Since I maybe drive somewhere only a couple times a week, this would take me a long time to recoup the price difference over the Accord hybrid. My best bet is to keep driving the cars I already own. I don't see any reason to get one of these over a BMW i3 or a Volt, both of which I don't mind looking at.

Vigo said:

I just want an electric-drive hybrid vehicle - one with an electric motor for propulsion and gas generator backup like this - that has the room/practicality/versatility of a Grand Caravan(but without the flakey mopar BCM issues), but can actually tow 5,000lbs minimum. 

Used, of course...

We're getting closer! With exception of the tow rating, for now. But, I'm much more confident in the durability of hybrid transmissions to deal with towing than i am with old school automatics.  For the most part they don't have holding elements (clutches/sprags/bands) in between the drive motor and the wheels, and an electric motor is not going to care about what resistance it's up against. It's not going to shorten its lifespan. 

Especially with Rivian coming to fruition (and I think they're going to avoid a lot of the industry pitfalls that Tesla is putting on themselves), and Tesla threatening to come out with their pickup. Sooner or later, the "normal" domestics are going to have to add hybrid tech to every vehicle they sell--even the pickemups and minivans. (I know Chrysler is already there with the minivan)

I take a fair amount of Lyft rides so I get to sample a lot of cars from the inside. For some reason I never get a warm feeling in Hondas. Toyota’s, Nissans,Hyundai  just feel more welcoming. But I had a longish ride in a new Clarity and I really liked it. Maybe itt was the modern vibe inside combined with a smooth ride. I was immediately looking it up on the interwebs. If I was in the market for this type of car it might be top if the list. 

The lack of research into this “review” is stunning. So the clarity is $2k more then an accord hybrid - really?  Ever hear of a tax credit for EVs?  The Clarity has a 17 kWh battery that qualifies for $7500. Live in a ZEV state?  That gets another $5k off. I got my Clarity Touring model for $23k plus another $2k in sales tax. Pretty sure you can’t get an accord hybrid for that price. Seats five and has room for luggage. Gets 42 mpg as a hybrid. I’ve gone 7k miles and used 24 gallons of gas  I charge at work for free and there are plenty of free chargers around.  Pretty sure I’ll save $1k in fuel costs this year alone  

No, the car isn’t for everyone but if you want to review a car how about doing a little more research then quoting the Honda brochure and looking at a few photos?